Banksia House

On behalf of the Banksia House Leadership Team, I would like to congratulate our Community, on the exceptional and smooth start to the year. It is clear throughout the House and across the school there is a strong focus on learning – for staff, our students and our families – and it is evident ‘the work’ has begun to maintain the momentum we had last year and draw on the lessons learnt in lockdown.

While the start to the year has not been exactly what we anticipated, with recent events, the way our community has embraced this latest ‘new’ is exceptional and once again shows how resilient we are – something I am incredibly proud of. We have come this far and I know together we will get through anything. 

Welcome to Banksia House

A big welcome and well done to our Year 7 students. They are a joy to work with, learn from and listen to. In their first weeks they faced many challenges, with the biggest one being opening their lockers, which I am sure our families have heard about (who knew it would be that hard). I am pleased to share that through this struggle no one gave up and each student showed resilience, patience and curiosity – skills they will all draw upon for the rest of their lives.

We have enjoyed getting to know our Year 7s, as they have shared their hopes and fears, what they want to be in the future and as they built House and Team Spirit in a House PE Challenge. They have each been prepared for learning, with a general buzz in the air and they have asked a lot of questions – which we hope they continue. I have included below two videos from our Year 7 Students as they share their reflections about the first few weeks.

Wiley

Aura

A very warm welcome to our new families who have joined us this year, transitioning from various settings. The Team and I very much look forward to getting to know you, your child and your family and we are keen to learn how we can best support your child’s learning. If you are a new family and you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the School and any member of the Banksia House Leadership Team. 

Attendance

Our attendance has been incredibly high as we begin the year, which is wonderful to see. We are so proud of you all and we hope this great start continues, as by attending over 90% of the time, you are getting the best possible start to your learning. Please continue to keep this up. Congratulations to each year level on your attendance percentages below:

• Year 7 – 96%
• Year 8 – 94%
• Year 9 – 97%
• Year 10 – 90%
• Year 11 – 93%
• Year 12 – 94% 

Our Student Leaders

A big congratulations to our newly appointed Student Leadership Team in Banksia House. The quality of and the number of applicants this year was outstanding and we are thrilled with the Student response. It is evident Student Leadership is being taken very seriously and our Students want their voices heard to improve their overall learning experience. We look forward to working with each of the Students below and we congratulate them all.

For those not successful this year, please remember: leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, formal and informal and we will ensure your voices are heard across the House and School in a number of different ways.

Banksia House Captains

Rohan and Hamsa 

Student Representative Council Members in Banksia House

Year 7 – Aura A

Year 8 – Ali Reza A

Year 9 – Ali A

Year 10 – Myee P

Year 11 – Omr A

Year 12 – Frank W

House Leadership Team

Welcome also to our new House Leadership Team Members: Geoffrey Greaves (Assistant House Leader) and Melissa Sparks (Student Engagement Coordinator).

We are also joined by new staff in the House, including our tutors who are part of the Tutor Learning Initiative and Staff from other Houses. We welcome you all on board and we know you will positively impact the learning of all of our Students. 

Finally, while we continue to face challenges in 2021, my hope as the House Leader of Banksia, is to further develop the connections and partnerships that we made last year with you all, to ensure the learning growth of everyone within our Community. I also hope we build on the important life skills that 2020 has taught us such as resilience, a growth mindset, problem solving and agility and I hope we get to work more closely with you all in person. A great start to the year and I know we will get through this ‘together’.

Good luck, everyone. 

Kelly Krieg 

Banksia House Leader